Massachusetts Republicans Aren’t Dumping Trump

They are standing by the nominee.

Donald Trump

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Despite a catastrophic weekend for the campaign for Donald Trump that has seen the defection of top Republicans around the country, the GOP in Massachusetts is sticking with him.

A leaked 2005 video that captured him bragging about how his celebrity allowed him to assault women dominated the weekend, as did announcements from many of his high-profile supporters that they could no longer stomach his candidacy. But there are many holdouts in Congress and among other prominent politicians. Count among them Republican leadership in this state.

That’s the message being communicated by his local campaign co-chair and the state party leader, both of whom said they did not approve of the things he said, but stopped short of pulling their endorsement for his candidacy.

“I don’t condone what was discussed, but I am glad he has apologized,” state campaign leader Geoff Diehl tells Politico. “In the ten years since he made those terrible comments, Hillary Clinton has jeopardized national security with her emails, sold the services of the office of Secretary of State to the highest bidder, obstructed justice in Congressional and FBI investigations, and has allowed four Americans to die.”

Kristen Hughes, who heads Republicans in the state, called what he said “horribly offensive,” also according to Politico. She says she “it is appropriate” that he “has apologized” and says she is focusing on down-ballot candidates.

Gov. Charlie Baker, meanwhile, has been off the Trump train for a long time now. He said early on he couldn’t vote for the businessman, but has also said he wouldn’t vote for his opponent, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. He shows no signs of changing his mind. Baker is in Ireland and hasn’t weighed in on the video.

Mitt Romney, one of Trump’s most prominent critics, unleashed on the candidate after the video surfaced, calling his comments “vile.”

After months of expressing unenthusiastic support for him, and struggling with the question of whether she considered him a role model, New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte has finally cast him aside. She says she will write in his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, instead.

Trump won the Massachusetts primary decisively earlier this year, with more than 49 percent of the vote.